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APIA, Samoa (Samoa Observer, Jan. 31, 2013) – Kapeneta Purcell and her sons are counting their blessings after being saved from being swept away by heavy flooding at Magiagi this morning in Samoa.

Purcell and two of her eight children, her brother and two young men returned for the first time to their home at a low-lying residential area called Ueligitone, to redevelop their family after Cyclone Evan devastated it. Concentrating on erecting posts for a house, they did not realize that the river that runs through the land was building up fast after heavy rain this week. Realizing the danger they were in, they tried to escape but was too late. They were trapped between the water and debris.

Fortunately for them, people were watching from the top of the hill of Magiagi and amongst them was Olo Saniko, who witnessed the wrath of the river last month.

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Jan. 31, 2013) – French Polynesia is closely watching the early stages of a two week debate in France on whether to legalize marriage and adoption for same sex couples.

There have been huge demonstrations in recent weeks against the French President's 'Marriage for All' bill, which is part of his election campaign.

The gay community and transgender people, known as 'raerae' in Tahiti, are following the developments in France.

Sabrina Birk, a politician in Tahiti, has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat both communities want the right to adopt children.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Jan. 31, 2013) – Vanuatu’s government says the super yacht Phocea has become a distraction which it would prefer to go away.

The yacht, reportedly owned by Vanuatu diplomatic representative Pascal Ahn Quan Saken, has been detained in Port Vila harbor since July when it was seized by officials, originally on suspicion of drugs and guns smuggling.

Links between the yacht, Mr. Saken and government ministers have dogged the Prime Minister Sato Kilman since he was re-elected late last year.

While the Ports Authority has kept the yacht detained because of false documentations, the Prime Minister’s Political Adviser, Richard Kaltongga, says the government has repeatedly given clearance for it to leave.

"Now the vessel cannot leave because it doesn’t have a valid registration anywhere. But as far as the government is concerned it is no...

Former Chairman of the Cook Islands National Energy Committee, James Beer, said limited technical and financial resources would prevent the country from reaching its target of 100 percent renewable energy by 2020.

"If you look at the way we're trying to approach it... we're trying to integrate something new into something that is often called archaic," Mr. Beer told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat.

"It'll be quite expensive to do so and the cost has been bandied around at about NZ$200 million [US$166.7 million]."

HAGÃ TÃA, Guam (Marianas Variety Guam, Feb. 1, 2013) – After placing $2 million for merit bonuses in its fiscal year 2014 budget, the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) is in a quandary over the lack of funds to support the allocation.

In addition, GDOE still has to determine the number of employees eligible to receive the merit bonuses.

"All these numbers are based on the overall side of the department. The reality is we have to go through around 3,000 paper-based files to actually determine which employees are eligible for the merit bonus. There’s a lot of manpower and hours involved in just reviewing the files," GDOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez said in an interview with Variety.

The files being reviewed correspond to multiple evaluation performance tools, such as the Classroom Teacher Evaluation Program, which the department has been using to determine the...

Mr. Henao, a prominent lawyer and development advocate, was speaking to a group of ST members who gathered at the National Parliament on Tuesday to discuss various issues of concern to the general public.

Mr. Henao said that there was a vacuum in society prior to the emergence of social media where information on issues of national importance did not filter down to the different levels of society.

This situation did not allow members of the general public the opportunity to express opinions and contribute to discussions on policy...

SUVA, Fiji (Fijilive, Jan. 31, 2013) – More than 17,000 state land tenants will now have the opportunity to voice their concerns with Fiji’s Ministry of Lands or liaise on any issue regarding state land leasing and licensing.

This comes after Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama during his visit to Sigatoka found out that farmers were facing problems with their land leases and very less was done by the authorities concerned.

Bainimarama who is also the Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources after receiving complaints immediately instructed a team of officials to visit homes and hear first hand their concerns.

And the Ministry of Lands in response has advertised a list of areas in the western division where tenants will be requested to attend the face-to-face consultations.

Permanent Secretary Tevita Boseiwaqa in a statement has called on tenants and...

SAIPAN, CNMI (Saipan Tribune, Feb. 1, 2013) – With less than two years before the end of the federalization transition period on Dec. 31, 2014, the Fitial administration, Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP), the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands lawmakers are poised to ask the U.S. Labor Secretary to extend it by five more years or up to 2019.

If the transitional Commonwealth-only worker program is not extended, more than 12,000 skilled and professional nonresident workers with CW-1 status will have to exit the CNMI.

Sablan said his letter to the U.S. Labor secretary will be sent "in the not so distant future."

He said the still "fragile" state of the CNMI economy needs continued access to skilled guest workers while the CNMI should work toward employing all eligible U.S. workers and continue to train or prepare the...

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Jan. 31, 2013) – PNG is calling on members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to continue supporting the indigenous Kanaks of New Caledonia in their pursuit for independence.

Deputy Prime Minister Leo Dion, who attended the group’s 25-year celebrations in Port Vila, Vanuatu, last weekend, said one of the cornerstones for the formation of the MSG was to pursue self-determination for the Kanaks.

"While we still have a lot more work to do to achieve this noble dream for our brothers and sisters in New Caledonia, we must be happy that we have made real progress towards making this dream a reality.

"I must commend the hard-working director general, his staff and our officials for their tireless effort in implementing the leaders’ decisions on this matter," he said.

Dion said PNG was pleased to note that a successful mission was led by the...

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.